BEACHES
The lovers of the sand will find that Sifnos is the ideal destination for them. Kamares, Heronissos, Faros, Fassolou, Glifo, Apokofto, Platis Gialos, Vathi, Tsopos, will be like heaven on your feet! Fikiada in southern Sifnos is one of the most beautiful beaches, but doesn’t include road access. With the majority of the beaches being sandy and the depth of the sea in many areas being shallow, you can let the children play carelessly.
For those who love pebbles, you will find what you want in Spilia beach, which is next to Kamares, Vroulidia, Seralia and Lazarou.
Most of the beaches of Sifnos are organised and provide umbrellas and sun-beds, as well as natural shadow from the tamarisk trees, if you prefer that option.
As for the food? There are tavernas almost anywhere that await for you to visit them or some mini market, for the essential supplies.
DISTANCES
Sifnos covers an area of just 74 km². Its size allows the visitor to explore it from one end to the other without exhausting themselves. Imagine that, in order to go to the most isolated village or beach, you will not need more than 20 minutes!
The kilometric distance from Apollonia, which is the capital and is situated in the centre of the island, to Heronissos is only 14 km. It is just as close as needed, in order to combine a peaceful holiday with a taste of a cosmopolitan one!
LOCAL FLAVORS
Famous dishes and pastries are chickpea balls (“revithokeftedes”), slow baked chickpeas stew (“revithada”), honeyed, fragrant and soft nougat (“pasteli”), honey pie, almond macaroons (“amigdalota”) and, of course, the famous “mastelo”.
TRADITIONAL RELIGIOUS FEASTS OF THE SUMMER
If you are a traditional culture and tradition enthusiast, you shouldn’t miss out on attending one of the religious feasts of the summer. The most important ones are the feast Prophitis Helias Apsilos and Prophitis Helias of Troulaki on the 19th of June, the feast of Agios Panteleimonas in Cheronissos on the 26th of July, the feast of Agios Ioannis on the 28th of August, of Agios Simeon Stilitis on the 31st of August, of Taxiarhis on the 5th of September, of Agios Sozon on the 6th of September, of the Virgin Mary on the 7th of September and of Agios Nikitas on the 15th of September.
ACTIVITIES
Sifnos is an ideal place for hiking. With its trail network being one of the most organised ones in Europe, it can promise its visitors unique experiences.
If you are familiar with technology, you can find all the trails of Sifnos on the webpage http://www.sifnostrails.com. If, on the other hand, you prefer traditional navigation with a map in hand, you can buy a hiking map in one of the island’s bookstores.
In case you are scared of wandering alone in the mountains, you can visit the webpage http://sifnoshiking.com and find organised excursions to the trails that are led by professional mountain guides.
If, on the other hand, you are a sea lover and a water sports enthusiast, you will find what you are looking for in Platis Gialos and Vathi.
The island’s touristic companies organise daily excursions with boats to beaches of the island that are difficult to access otherwise, as well as visits to neighbouring islands such as Kimolos, Paros, Milos and others.
If the bottom of the sea is what fascinates you, an educational diving centre operates in the island. In the case of fishing (undersea or not) being what appeals to you, Sifnos is an attractive fishing spot that will compensate you for your efforts.
In an island with an ancient tradition in pottery that goes back to the Protocycladic era, it would be interesting to visit one of the pottery laboratories that are sparsely situated in Sifnos. Among them you will find our family laboratory named “Ceramics Lebesi”, that has moved from Heronissos to Artemonas and is operating there since 1984.
If you would like to spend your time in a more productive way, you can even take classes of traditional greek dances or greek cuisine.
SIGHTS
You can start sightseeing by visiting the Acropolis of Agios Andreas and the Castle and continue to the archaeological museum of Sifnos, which, though small, contains more than 1,000 exhibits that date back to the 8th-1st century BC.
You can also go through the Folklore Museum in the centre of Apollonia, where you can find various objects that make up the history of the island.
It is also worth visiting some of the churches of Sifnos that have been marked as historical sights. The Monastery of the Virgin Mary of Sifnos Chryssopigi is considered as one of the best ones. Apart from that, you could visit the church of Panagia “Angeloktisti” in the village of Katavati, the Monastery of Prophitis Helias the Psilos with its catacombs, the Monastery of Chrissostomos in Kato Petali, the Panagia the Gournia in the village of Pano Petali, Agios Antypas in Pano Petali, Agios Konstantinos in Artemonas, the Panagia of Ammos and the Panagia Kochi in Artemonas, the church of Panagia Eleoussa in Kastro, the Monasteries of Panagia Poulati and Panagia tou Vounou.
Don’t miss out on going to the seventy-six ancient towers that were built all over the island between the 6th and the 3rd century BC. Among them, the ones that stand out are White Tower (Aspros Pyrgos) on the road to Platys Gialos, the the Black Tower in Exambela village and the Tower of Katavati on the road to Vathi, which are maintained in a great condition.
THE HISTORY OF SIFNOS
The origin of the name is not certain, as some speculate that it comes from the son of an attic hereo, Sounios, and others from the adjective “sifnos” that means empty, because of the mines that the island used to have. In this Cycladic island, the civilisation laid its foundations since the end of the 5th millennium BC. The evolution was continuous and, during the Early Bronze Age, an important culture was developed in the area of the Cyclades, called the Cycladic culture. With the use of materials such as clay, marble, mineral colours, ochre and plaster (after the discovery of quicklime), and with the inspiration from the natural environment, the Cycladic people (and among them the people of Sifnos) developed a person-centred civilisation that was born in order to satisfy the aesthetic needs of everyday people and not to serve supernatural forces or to praise some dynast.
From the beginning of the settlement of Sifnos, the inhabitants’ main activities were related to agriculture, the farming of animals, ceramics, shipping, trade and metallurgy. According to Herodotus, the 6th century BC was an era of great prosperity, since great quantities of silver and gold were being mined.